


Like Real People Do

by PrinceSkylar



Series: Taking Care Of Things [11]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Best Friends, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Comfort, Drinking, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Feelings, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Moving In Together, Romance, Team 8, Weddings, and its awful cause im awful at writing, but for a good reason, like naruto and sasuke have a wedding scene, lots of friend feelings, naruto ocs, sensei kiba, there's a few ocs at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 06:50:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16634999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSkylar/pseuds/PrinceSkylar
Summary: The end of the road, as they say.Or, Kiba and Kankuro meet again, and things all fall into place.





	Like Real People Do

**Author's Note:**

> So this took way way longer than it should have and I apologize. My wrist injury keeps acting up, work is CHAOS and my actual laptop like...exploded, essentially. So I've been doing most of my writing on my phone but I borrowed a friends computer to post this. There's probably some typos because I was sort of rushed, I'll fix them in the coming weeks. You guys are so awesome for sticking with me this long. This is the actual end of the series, and it's been such fun to write. I added an epilogue to this at the end, and it involves some minor OC's that I might keep writing with, maybe for future fics about Kiba living in Suna. Who knows!
> 
> Anyways, thank you all so much.

It was the day.

It was the day Gaara and Kankuro were arriving in Konoha and Kiba was practically vibrating as he walked with Hinata and Shino to the village gates. Sakura and Kakashi had given them permission to greet the Suna men at the gates when they arrived, along with Shikamaru and Temari. Usually only Temari or Shikamaru greeted Gaara when he arrived but seeing as Kiba had...special relations now, he was an exception. Lee would have been there too, he knew, if he wasn't frantically cleaning his own apartment. Kiba had caught just a glimpse of him on his way out, watching Lee run down the street with an arm full of cleaning supplies, yelling about how ashamed he was for letting his house get so dirty so quickly. It wan't like Gaara would even care about the mess, though, and Lee's house was only so dirty because of all the packing he'd been doing but Kiba understood the principal of it.

Looking clean was  _nice_ sometimes.

It was mid morning, a little later than Kiba actually wanted to be up, but he figured he was making great time. He was just too excited, too eager. Shino and Hinata were excited for him too, he could tell. Hinata was all smiles while Shino was humming to himself, something he only ever did when he was in an exceptionally good mood. He was glad they were excited, though. On top of both Hana and his mother wanting to give Kankuro a hard time in their own protective way, knowing Shino and Hinata were already pacified was...nice. Calming, even.

Kankuro could only handle so much light threatening, after all.

"Are Kankuro and Gaara staying for a while after the wedding?" Shino's voice broke Kiba out of his mild day dreaming.

He blinked and looked over at Shino, smiling a little. "Yeah. For just a couple of days, at least."

"Will you and Lee be leaving when they leave?" Shino probed, this time arching an eyebrow curiously.

That had been a hard conversation, telling Shino and Hinata his plans to move. They'd been together for years now and the idea of splitting up so drastically made Kiba fear he would upset them. It had taken Kiba a full ten minutes to choke out the words, and another five to calm down enough to be able to ask them what they thought. And...well, of course they were sad. But they were happy for him. They had assured him over and over again how happy they were for him and how much they supported him. Kiba...might have cried a little bit. But that was okay, because crying in front of Shino and Hinata always felt really, really good. Like he was shoving a huge mound of stress off his shoulders each time.

He loved his friends. All of them. But Hinata and Shino held a very dear and precious place in his heart. Knowing that this choice wasn't ruining what they had made Kiba extremely happy.

"I mean I assume so." Kiba nodded, hands shoved deep in his pockets. "I still have to actually...you know, tell Kankuro. But Lee said the general idea is that we leave when they do."

"Good thing we're having that farewell party." Hinata hummed softly, leaning into Kiba slightly as they walked down the road, turning a corner. "Naruto's been so excited planning it. It's like he's planning a second wedding."

"I told him we didn't have to have a party." Kiba sighed softly, lips twitching up into a small smile. "I think Tenten and Neji took Lee out for dinner last night as their own personal farewell."

"They did." Hinata chimed gently. She straightened up, stretching her arms above her head as she heaved a small, tired yawn. "Neji said it was nice. Lee enjoyed it so that's what matters. If you weren't so difficult we would have done the same for you."

"We still can." Shino offered casually, smiling softly. "But Kiba's eager to spend the day and the _night_ with his  _boyfriend_." Oh, that was a teasing tone Shino didn't use very often.

Kiba felt his face heat up, and it only got hotter when Hinata started laughing. He whipped his head around to squint at Shino. "Don't tease me! You were the same way when you and Hinata started dating! You two were  _so_  sappy and always having se-"

"Kiba!" Hinata cut in, her face a bright shade of red as she swatted him in the arm, her giggling gone in a heartbeat. When he yelped in pain she huffed and looked away, crossing her arms. "Don't be so casual about that!" She almost whined. Embarrassment was always rather cute on her; Kiba never felt too bad about teasing her.

"Says you, who's super nosy about  _my_  sex life!" Kiba shot back with a snicker. Hinata flushed harder, if possible, and Kiba feared she might pass out. So he eased up, slipping his arm around Hinata's shoulders. "But you're right. I shouldn't speak so casually about a lady's sexual escapades. I apologize."

"I'll decide if I forgive you later." Hinata huffed, but the corner of her lips were twitching into a small smile.

Shino snorted softly, one hand coming up to adjust his glasses. "Hinata, you go too easy on him." He chided gently. "This is why he thinks he can get away with being so insufferable."

"As insufferable as I am, you two love me." Kiba drawled with another grin.

Shino snorted again, his smile softening. "Yes, I suppose we do. It's very hard not to love you, Kiba."

Kiba blew a playful kiss to Shino as they turned another corner, before he looked ahead towards the village gates. His eyes widened when he saw an all too familiar mound of red hair, standing next to an all too familiar purple painted face. It made Kiba's heart skip a beat. Gaara and Kankuro had arrived earlier than expected and were  _right there_ talking to Temari and Shikamaru at the village gates. Kiba found himself stopping in his tracks, breath caught in his throat. Beside him, Hinata paused and glanced ahead, before a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"What, you're nervous all of a sudden?" she asked, elbow nudging his side gently.

Kiba blushed and rolled his shoulders a bit, enthralled by the way Kankuro laughed in the distance. He groaned softly and brought a hand up to rub his face. "You know what? I'm not gonna be shy about this. Here I go!"

And Kiba took off running, Shino and Hinata's laughter dying in the distance as he sprinted towards Kankuro, his heart beating nearly a million miles a second. The sound of his shoes slapping down on the ground must have been what alerted Kankuro, before the puppet master was suddenly turning around with wide eyes, his lips tugged up into a huge grin as he threw his arms open. "Dog Breath!"

Ah yes, always the romantic one.

Kiba grinned so hard he feared his own face would split in half, but he didn't slow down. In fact, he  _sped up_ , colliding with Kankuro so hard that they both went falling down into the ground, Kankuro taking the full force of the fall. From somewhere off to the side, Kiba heard an exasperated sigh from Temari, and an all too amused chuckle from Gaara. But he couldn't really find it in himself to care. Not when Kankuro's arms were hugging him tight, not when his face was buried in Kankuro's neck, inhaling his scent like it was the last thing he'd ever get to experience.

He was sure he would have cried if the others weren't around them. Instead, he lifted his head enough to smile down at the grinning, surprised puppet master, and pressed a far too quick kiss to those purple painted lips. "Hey, Babe."

" _Hey_  is what you say after tackling me?" Kankuro snorted softly, a hand coming up to cup Kiba's cheek. He rolled his eyes a little and pulled Kiba down into a real kiss, one that was all tongue and teeth and had Temari making a gagging noise off to the side.

"Do you two have to make out in the middle of the  _street_?"

"Yes." Kankuro told her firmly when he pulled away from the kiss, never once breaking eye contact with Kiba. "We're in love, Temari, don't be such a prude."

"Your sister is the furthest thing from a prude, my man." Shikamaru murmured from the side, pointedly ignoring the sharp glare Temari sent him.

Kankuro blinked and tore his gaze away from Kiba to scowl a little bit at Shikamaru. "Okay, ew. Way too much information." He shuddered, crinkling his nose in disgust before finally returning his gaze to Kiba. "You know, as cute you were running to me and tackling me, there's some sort of jagged rock digging into my shoulder blade so maybe, just maybe, we should, I dunno...get up?"

"Oh, shit, yeah!" Kiba shot to his feet in record time, taking Kankuro's hand to help him up. Sheepish, he bit his lip and didn't let go of the other's hand. "Sorry about that. I just...I was getting nervous when I saw you and I just...went for it."

"It's fine. It was cute." Kankuro squeezed his hand gently, before peering around Kiba to smile at Shino and Hinata. "Hey, you two. Long time no see."

"Indeed." Shino mused as he stopped beside Shikamaru, hands back in his pockets. "It's good to see you," He paused to smile towards Gaara. "And it's good to see you as well, Gaara."

Gaara blinked in surprise, as if he hadn't expected to be spoken to, before he smiled slightly at Shino. "It's good to see you, too. Both of you." He assured, bowing his head slightly to Hinata. "It has certainly been a long time."

"Welcome to Konoha." Hinata smiled warmly, seemingly elated to talk to the Kazekage. "Naruto's going to be so happy to see you."

"Yes, I'm sure." Gaara mused softly, lifting a hand to run his fingers through his hair. "Depending on what Lee has planned we might see Naruto and Sasuke tonight."

"I'm sure they'd like that." Hinata smiled wider. "So you'll be sleeping over at Lee's while you're here, then?"

"Yes, that's the plan." Gaara nodded.

Temari chuckled, looking at Kiba as she gestured to Kankuro. "And I'm assuming this guy is going with you, right?"

Kiba nodded eagerly. "Yep!" He blinked and looked back at Kankuro, smile faltering for a second. "Unless you had other plans? I kinda...assumed you'd stay at my house but it's fine if you don't want to or-"

Kankuro cut him off with a quick kiss to his lips, smiling softly. "That's perfect." He assured him softly. "In fact I'd be a little offended if you  _didn't_  want me to sleep over."

Christ, how could Kiba  _not_  love him?

Relieved, Kiba nodded as he tried to force down the blush staining his cheeks. "Cool, cool..."

"Well, then, Shika and I are going to walk Gaara to Lee's." Temari told them, a bit louder now. Bless Temari, really, for knowing when to take the lead. She knew Kankuro and Kiba wanted to be alone and, even though Kiba knew Temari wanted to catch up with her brothers, she was still offering them a chance to escape. Bless her. She fixed Kiba with a small smile. "You should take Kankuro over to your place and get him settled. I'm sure Akamaru will love seeing him again."

Kiba's hand flew down to grasp Kankuro's as he made a mental note to buy Temari a  _huge_ bundle of flowers in the future. "Yeah, totally. We'll meet up with you guys later."

"Sure thing." Temari slung an arm around Gaara, looking at the two over her shoulder. "Behave yourselves, boys~"

Kiba blushed, just barely, and quickly looked at Shino and Hinata. "Are you guys going to come with or...?"

Shino shook his head a bit, reaching down so he could take Hinata's hand into his own. "Hinata and I have some things to pick up. You go ahead. I'm sure we'll see you around."

"You know," Kankuro murmured once Shino and Hinata were out of ear shot. "I think they all assume we're running off to have sex."

Kiba hummed softly as he gave a gentle tug to Kankuro's hand, making the man follow in his steps as he started walking. "Well, what makes you think we  _aren't_  going to have sex?"

There was a brief pause and Kiba didn't even have to look over to know Kankuro was grinning when he spoke. "Are we? Cause that's fine with me. I stink, but I mean-"

"We're  _not_." Kiba snickered, shooting him a small smirk. "But that's nice to know you're ready to jump at the chance. My mom and sister are home and they want to...you know. Talk to you. Probably threaten you a little."

"Threaten me?" Kankuro echoed, scoffing softly. "That sounds fun." He snorted softly.

"They won't actually threaten you." Kiba promised him, even though...he really wasn't sure. "I mean, they just want to talk to you since they know we're...you know. A thing. They were really happy when I told them. And...I'm sure they're just going to give you the don't hurt me speech."

"Right, that's fair." Kankuro amended, swinging their hands a little bit between the two of them. "I think I can handle that. But if your mom yells at me I might cry a little bit; she's scary, man."

Kiba glanced over at the other, watching the way Kankuro's lips turned up in a smile as he spoke. He made his heart flutter and he held the other's hand a little tighter. "Don't worry; if she yells at you, I'll save you."

"My handsome hero." Kankuro murmured, lifting their joined hands so he could kiss the top of Kiba's gently.

Kiba blushed hard, grinning so wide he was sure his face would split in two. "Stop being so sweet. I can't just push you against a wall and kiss you in the middle of the street."

"Actually you can, it would just be really awkward with so many people watching." Kankuro pointed out, his soft smile melding into something a little more suggestive. "We can do that stuff at your house though~"

Kiba was pretty sure that if Kankuro took his news about moving well, they'd be doing more than just making out against his bedroom door. Not that he minded that at all, of course.

Kankuro's calm demeanor seemed to shift a little bit when they were walking up the trail to the front door of the Inuzuka home. Anyone that didn't know him well probably wouldn't have been able to pick up on it, but Kiba noticed it almost instantly. The lip caught between his teeth, the way his free hand squeezed the strap of his backpack tighter with every step. Kankuro was suddenly nervous and it made Kiba pause at the front door, turning to look at his boyfriend, worried. "Hey, are you alright?"

Kankuro sucked in a sharp breath before he sighed, his smile sheepish. "I'm...actually sort of nervous now, actually. This is the first time I'm going into your house as your boyfriend. I've never had to meet the parents of someone I love before. And yeah I've met your mom before but it's...different."

"Yeah, it's different," Kiba agreed slowly, stepping closer and reaching up to gently tug Kankuro's lip out from between his teeth. "But she liked you already before we started dating. I mean...you did sort of save my life in the past. So you don't have to worry about making a good impression." He assured him softly. It was sort of cute to know that Kankuro was worried about this, that he was nervous about making a good impression...but Kiba just felt bad making his boyfriend worry so much. "My mom and my sister already like you. Just...be you."

Kankuro eyed him for a long moment, like he was trying to decide if he wanted to believe him or not, before his gaze softened and he nodded slowly. "Aright...let's go, then, Dog Breath."

Kiba led Kankuro into the house with a grin and as they kicked off their shoes by the door, he looked towards the kitchen. "Hey! You guys home?" He called out loudly.

"In the kitchen!" Tsume called back just as loudly. Vaguely, Kiba could hear a chorus of dogs barking out in the back yard.

Kiba nodded and took Kankuro's hand once again as they made their way to the kitchen. Tsume was at the stove making breakfast and Hana was washing up dishes at the sink. When the two young men walked in both women turned to look at them and Hana grinned brightly, shutting the sink off and wiping her wet hands on her shirt. "Hey, Kankuro. Long time no see."

"Good to see you, Hana." Kankuro gave a small wave, awkwardly adjusting his backpack on his shoulder. His eyes drifted to Tsume, who had turned to smile at him, and he smiled a little bit back at her. As best as he could when his anxiety was spiking, Kiba assumed. "It's good to see you too, Tsume."

"You've gotten taller." Tsume strode over and snatched the hat off of Kankuro, her other hand ruffling his messy brown hair as she cackled at his alarmed squeak. "You're looking great. Did you and your brother have a safe trip here?"

"Yeah, it went by really fast, too." Kankuro looked less worried already, maybe because Tsume seemed so casual with him so far. That...was good. That was very good.

Tsume handed the hat back to Kankuro and glanced at Kiba as she made her way back over to the stove. "Breakfast is just about ready so go ahead and help Kankuro get settled really quick while Hana and I dish everything up."

The moment they stepped out of the kitchen Kiba snickered softly and threw his arm around Kankuro's shoulders. "See? I told you there was nothing to worry about! Everything's fine."

Kankuro made a sound that could only be described as disgruntled, letting his head fall over onto Kiba's shoulder. "It's still scary. It's your mom, Kiba. She strikes fear into people's hearts."

"She isn't  _that_ scary." Kiba insisted, leading Kankuro down the hall to his bedroom. He opened his bedroom door and held it open for Kankuro, smiling a little bit at him. "I cleaned for you, by the way. My room looks better than it has in months."

"What a gentleman." Kankuro snickered, stepping into the room. True to his word, Kiba had indeed cleaned. Even the bed was made, and all of the toys Akamaru chewed on when he slept in the room were piled in a nice little pile in the corner of the room. Kankuro set his backpack down on the floor and looked around, hands on his hips. "Damn, you really put my room to shame. Not even a single shirt on the floor? Come on, Kiba."

"I wanted to look good." Kiba shrugged, leaning in the door way. Before, he'd only had Kankuro in his room a very small handful of times. Each time, it had been in the middle of the night when they were drunk and about to pass out, or early in the morning when the both of them had hang overs. This time it was in the middle of the morning and neither of them were drunk or sick. This time, seeing Kankuro in his room, unpacking his things and getting comfortable, made Kiba's heart swell with joy. So much joy that he almost felt a little choked up. He cleared his throat once, pushing away from the wall and walking over to the kneeling down puppet master that was digging through his backpack. "Hey, Kankuro?"

"Yeah?" Kankuro looked up, caught off guard when Kiba leaned down to kiss him gently on the lips.

Kiba grinned as he pulled away a second later, shrugging casually. "I'm really happy to see you. That's all."

For just a second Kankuro stared at him with wide, alarmed eyes, before Kiba saw that all too familiar blush light up his boyfriend's face once again. Almost instantly they both started laughing, Kankuro shaking his head as he tossed his hat onto Kiba's bed and finally stood up back. "You're adorable, you know that?" He murmured, his arms finding their way around Kiba's waist.

"I've been told that once or twice." Kiba smirked softly, bringing a hand up to cup one of the other's cheeks. "But I think I like it best when you say it to me. Sounds nice and shit."

Kankuro snorted and pressed a fleeting kiss to Kiba's lips and then pulled away from him entirely, snickering at Kiba's almost instant pout. "Your mom and sister are waiting for us. Let's not keep them waiting."

"I want to argue but my mom would barge in here without even knocking, so it's probably a good idea." Kiba sighed, shaking his head a little bit. Just the mere thought of his mom walking in on them making out or...anything else made him want to fall into an endless pit. Neither Hana nor their mother would ever let him live it down.

Kankuro's fingers twining with his yanked Kiba out of his thoughts and he smiled softly, leading him out of the room. It felt so strange...almost like it wasn't real. Kankuro was here. With him. And soon Kiba could share the news with him...it had his stomach fluttering with a happy sort of anxiety. He was struggling to contain himself, really, and was honestly surprised he'd been able to hold it in this long.

_Soon...so soon..._

Tsume threw a wide grin their way when they walked into the kitchen, already sitting down at the table with Hana. The table was full of plates of bacon, eggs, and almost every other breakfast food Tsume knew how to cook and Kiba fought the urge to snort loudly. His mother was definitely showing off just a little bit. Probably because Kankuro was  _special_ to Kiba which made him  _special_ to her, too. Regardless, it looked delicious and Kiba was suddenly hyper aware of how hunger he was as he and Kankuro sat down across from Hana and Tsume. They all made their plates, the sound of dogs barking in the yard filtering in through the open kitchen window.

"This all looks amazing, Tsume." Kankuro said after he was done piling his own plate with bacon. "I've kinda been starving all morning."

"Well there's plenty, so eat up." Tsume chuckled softly, eyeing the two men before her.

Kiba squinted at his mother, making Tsume squint right back, but it was Hana who cut in suddenly and  _loudly._ "So Kankuro. You and Kiba, huh?"

Luckily Kankuro was prepared for this, so he only blushed slightly, a strip of bacon stuck between his lips. He pulled the bacon from his mouth and reached for a napkin to wipe his lips, humming a little as he nodded slowly. "Yeah. He told you guys already, he said?"

"Well, not right away." Tsume replied with a small smile, reaching for her coffee mug by her plate. She took a long sip, causing just a brief second of anticipation before she continued. "But when he came home covered in so many hickies it was kind of easy to tell he was with someone. But yeah, he told us. It was...a bit surprising. But not unwelcome."

Not unwelcome...that seemed to make Kankuro relax a little bit. He nodded slowly, a small smile forming on his lips as he looked at the woman across from them. "I'm sure it was pretty surprising. But...I mean if you approve then that's what matters to me, I guess. I don't really consider myself old fashioned but I just...I guess I wanted to get your blessing or something. You know?" His smile looked a bit more strained now as he struggled to place his words. "If you didn't approve of me and Kiba being...together, then I'd do whatever I had to do to get your approval. That's all I mean."

Kiba couldn't hide his smile even if he tried and that smile only grew wider when Kankuro glanced at him and blushed hard. It was sweet to hear Kankuro say even if it was something Kiba had known already. Saying it to his mother though, so bluntly at that, as just so...endearing. And touching. Kiba couldn't help but reach over under the table and take Kankuro's hand into his own, squeezing it gently. Kankuro squeezed right back, smiling softly as the both of them glanced back at Tsume and Hana.

Tsume, her head cocked to the side just a little, smiled softly at the both of them before she sighed. "It's nice to know that. But I'm fine with you dating my son. You saved his life once and I don't think there's anyone else I'd trust more with his heart. But...I'm his mother and this is the first time he's ever been with anyone as far as I know. He really likes you-"

" _Mom_." Kiba's groan held hardly any real irritation. He rolled his eyes and brought a forkful of eggs to his mouth. "Don't get sappy. Please."

"I'll be as sappy as I want!" Tsume scoffed loudly, leaning back in her chair to cross her arms over her chest. She huffed a little bit at her son. "If you're going to be gone with him soon then I just need him to keep in mind that as your mother I will absolutely deck him if he doesn't treat you well." She stated firmly, before her eyes widened in surprise at her own words.

Kiba choked a little bit, head whipping around to look at Kankuro who looked...well, confused. Lost, maybe. Kiba looked back at his mom, making a loud, distressed sound. "Mom!"

"It slipped out!" Tsume insisted just as loudly, though she had enough decency to look apologetic.

"Wait, wait," Kankuro waved his hand a little bit to try and avert their attention back to him. He frowned and then looked pointedly at Hana, as if Hana would be the easiest person to get an answer from. Which...was probably true. "Kiba's going to be gone with me soon? What does  _that_ mean?"

Hana chewed the food in her mouth slowly, never once breaking eye contact with the sand-nin as she did so. She swallowed and leaned back a little bit, her lips curling into a small grin. "Ask Kiba. He's been dying to tell you for weeks, now."

Kankuro's eyes were back on him not even a second later, narrowed in both confusion and in worry. Kiba groaned loudly, shooting a small glare at his mother and at his sister. "You two ruin  _everything._ "

"Kiba," Kankuro stressed, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend's theatrics. "Will you tell me what they're talking about? I'm really freaking lost."

Kiba wasn't surprised that he himself was anxious all of a sudden. This...wasn't really how he had wanted this to happen. He was hoping to spill the news a little later in the privacy of his bedroom and away from the much too prying eyes of his family. Oh, but now he was put on the spot with his boyfriend's curious and worried expression trained on him. He couldn't deny that there was a small part of him that felt a little smug to know that he was able to make Kankuro this unsettled to begin with but...well, that was just mean.

With a small, defeated sigh Kiba turned a little in his seat so that he could face Kankuro more, trying to ignore the feeling of both Hana and their mother watching the two of them closely. He took a second to place his thoughts, chewing on his lower lip briefly. "When I came home after leaving Suna I did...a lot of thinking." He began slowly.

Kankuro nodded softly, though this time he looked twice as nervous as before. "And...?"

"And...I talked a lot. With Mom and Hana...and with some of the others...and also with Kakashi...and Gaara." Kiba continued. Kankuro looked ready to ask why Kiba and Gaara had been talking and Kiba held up a hand to stop him, speaking once more. "Gaara and Kakashi and I...finalized it recently. So I was waiting for later to tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise. But, uh, I officially have dual citizenship both in Suna and here in Konoha. So...when Lee moves to Suna after the weeding...I'm going with him."

There was a moment where Kankuro looked entirely lost, before all of a sudden his eyes widened and he sat up straighter, opening his mouth and then closing it a couple of times. It looked like he was at a loss for words which...well, was hard to do to him sometimes. Kiba waited, though, patient as ever with his fists clenched in his lap. He knew Kankuro wasn't going to be mad...but that didn't stop him from still being nervous.

"Kiba you...you want to move to Suna?" Kankuro's voice was soft when he finally spoke up. His head whipped around so he could look at Tsume, expression hesitant. "Are...are you okay with this? It's...really sudden."

"It is sudden." Tsume agreed softly, nodding. "And I told Kiba that already. But...Kankuro, it's..." Tsume sighed and rubbed at her face for a second. "Kiba's...always been a wonderful kid. A wonderful young man. But he's always been kind of...lonely. Or sad. And he's been great at hiding it, sure, but I'm his mother. I can tell. There's always been something missing that I knew he needed...and when he came back from Suna, it was like whatever he needed had found him finally.  _You_ found him finally and...there's a happiness to him that I see that I want to always keep seeing in his eyes. He loves you, Kankuro, and while this is sudden and fast...It's what he needs. If you make him this happy then I'm not going to disapprove."

Kiba tore his gaze away from his mother so he could regain his composure a little. It still surprised him how much his mother noticed and how much she kept an eye on. To hear her say all of that so calmly, so factually...it made something in his chest ache. But he didn't have the time to lament over his mother's words right now. He looked back at Kankuro, taking in his more relaxed yet still hesitant expression. Kankuro looked like there was more he wanted to say, but maybe he wasn't sure how to say it. Kiba reached out to gently pat the other's shoulder, cocking his head to the side a little. "Whatever's going through your head...you should say it."

Kankuro scoffed softly, shaking his head slowly. "It's just...your dad is in Suna, Kiba." He murmured softly, glancing at Kiba with a more anxious look than before. "Do you...do you really want to be  _that_  close to him? All the time?"

Kiba shrugged. "I know he's there. And...it'll suck to see him around every so often but the way I feel about you is much stronger than how much I hate him." He meant it, too.

"Kiba you...your whole life is here in Konoha..." Kankuro insisted gently, gesturing towards Tsume and Hana. "Your Mom and your sister...not to mention Hinata and Shino and every one else. You're going to miss them."

"Well of course I'm going to miss them." Kiba replied, smiling a little bit. "I'm going to miss everybody...but I've thought long and hard about this, Kankuro. You're a part of my life, too...a really big part of it. And I want to be with you. Yeah, I'll miss everyone but...I can come visit. I don't want to stay here in Konoha if it means I can't be with you. I'm...I'm not my dad. I can't just put distance between myself and the person I love...because I  _really_ love you. I want to do this."

Kankuro, had they been alone, might have let himself take the shuddering breath Kiba knew he was trying to avoid. Instead he looked down at his lap to try and regain his own composure, bringing a hand up to once again run his fingers through his brown hair. When he finally looked back up at Kiba, his purple painted lip was caught between his teeth. "It's...gonna be hard, you know. Moving to a new village and all..."

"I know." Kiba assured him, rolling his shoulders in a small shrug. "But Lee's going, too...so he and I can adjust together. You know? It makes it easier to have someone going through the same thing there with me." He let his smile soften again, reaching out to gently squeeze Kankuro's hand. "It'll be okay; I promise. I just...really want to be with you."

Whatever little resistance Kankuro had left seemed to crumble after that and he smiled a little, nodding slowly. "Alright...if you're sure." He brought Kiba's hand to his lips and kissed it, before the realization that Hana and Tsume were still in the room and he blushed hard as he whirled around in his seat to face forward again. He cleared his throat and managed a more sheepish smile when he met Tsume's eye again. "I...I'll take care of him, Tsume. You have my word on that."

"I sure hope so. I'd hate to have to go all the way to Suna to kick your ass for hurting my boy." Tsume snorted. She reached for her fork and gestured to the food in front of all of them. "But enough of this serious talk. Let's eat and relax; you and Kiba can be serious and sappy once we're done."

"Good call. The serious vibe was starting to bum me out." Hana chuckled, already digging into her breakfast like a starving woman. She did pause after a moment, though, to fix her gaze back on Kankuro. "Kiba mentioned you're the one that makes that really good curry that Temari always gives to him when she comes back from Suna. Since you're going to be staying for a few days you should make it for us."

"Jeeze, did you get your whole family hooked on it?" Kankuro shot Kiba an amused smirk, before he smiled back at Hana. "I mean I can do that if you guys can get the ingredients I need. I wouldn't have any problems with that."

"I can get the things you need." Hana assured with a confident nod. "You're wonderful."

"I try to be." Kankuro grinned at her.

Hana blinked and snorted softly. "Oh, a confident man, are you?"

The two of them fell into playful bickering, almost as if they, too, had been siblings all their lives. Kiba watched them fondly, unable to keep his eyes off of their wide playful grins, and their giggling being music to his ears. There was just something so, so comforting about how easily Kankuro seemed to slot right into their family. It was like he had always belonged there, waiting for the time when he could come into their lives and make himself at home.

In a way, Kiba felt like it filled the void that his father had left a long time ago because all so suddenly, Kiba felt so much lighter and so much happier.

He had to go outside with his mother when breakfast was done, leaving Kankuro and Hana in the kitchen to clean. Kiba followed his mother out to the dog kennels and held open the door for her, watching as she unlocked all the cages and opened them wide. Dogs sprinted out at top speed, barking excitedly as they headed for the yard where they'd spend most of the day. Akamaru trotted out of his cage to Kiba, sniffing him and getting excited when he caught Kankuro's scent on Kiba's clothes. He barked happily and Kiba chuckled, reaching up to stroke his face.

"Yeah, he's here, Akamaru." He assured him "Run off some of this energy and he and I will come out in a bit to hang out, alright? He might want to rest for a bit after his trip here."

Akamaru wasn't entirely pleased with this turn of events but he agreed anyways, licking along Kiba's cheek and then sprinting off into the yard with the rest of the dogs. Tsume came to stand next to Kiba, watching the dogs run around fora minute or two before she gently nudged her son with her elbow. "I didn't scare him like you thought I was going to, huh?"

"Not at all." Kiba admitted with a small, grateful smile. "He was pretty freaked out to begin with...but I'm glad. He really wanted to make a good impression on you and Hana."

"He made a good impression when he saved your life." Tsume said softly, reaching up to ruffle Kiba's hair. "I'm really glad you two love each other so much. I can see it in his eyes how much he loves you. I'm really happy, Kiba. I mean it."

"...I know." He murmured, looping his arm around his mom's shoulders and pressing his lips to her cheek in a kiss. Tsume looked a little surprise at the sudden affection, but it didn't stop her from pressing their foreheads together, something she did with Hana and him back when they were kids. Kiba stared into his mom's eyes for just a second before he grinned slowly. "I'm happy that you're happy. I know you're always worried about me...but I'll be okay, Mom."

"I know you will." Tsume sighed softly and lifted her head enough to kiss her son's forehead. "But as a mom, knowing that your kid doesn't need you as much as they used to is...kind of sad. It's good because it means I raised you right but...it just means there's a little less need for your mom in your life and I guess...with how much time I missed with you when you were little-"

"Hey, stop that." Kiba chided gently, a small frown on his lips. "You had to provide for two kids all on your own most of the time...it's alright that you missed some time here and there. You're still the best mom in the world and I've never held all that time you were gone against you. So don't feel so awful about that, Mom."

Tsume looked like she wanted to argue and Kiba knew that no matter what he said, a small part of his mother would always feel a little guilty. It was a parent thing, he figured, and it wasn't something that as easy to get rid of. But even if Tsume wanted to argue she didn't. She just kissed Kiba's cheek and sighed, the softest of smiles tugging at her lip. "You're such a wonderful man, Kiba. I love you and your sister so much; don't ever forget that."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Kiba promised her, smiling wider. "I'm gonna head back in and see if Kankuro wants to rest for a little bit. If we aren't back out soon you can just let Akamaru in and he can rest with us; he'll go nuts out here if he doesn't see Kankuro soon."

"No problem." Tsume nodded, gently shoving him in the direction of the house. "Go spend time with your man."

_His man._

Now  _that_  was a set of words he loved to hear.

Kiba made his way back into the house and headed for the kitchen, pausing in the door way to watch his sister move around the kitchen, giggling with Kankuro as the man washed dishes. He must have caught them after a particularly funny conversation because Kankuro was hunched over the sink snickering while Hana was doing her all too cute snorting laughter, a hand over her mouth to try and muffle the sound as she shoved something into the trash bin. It was a nice sight, one Kiba could get used to. Hana glanced his way and grinned at him, trying to will away her laughter as she waved a little. "Hey, Kiba. Dogs are out in the yard?"

"Yeah, they're running off some energy." Kiba replied, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "I came to collect my man, if that's okay? you two look like you were having fun."

"You can take him; he just finished up the last of the breakfast dishes." Hana assured, roughly slapping a hand between Kankuro's shoulder blades, ripping a startled yelp from the man's lips. "Get going, Puppet Boy. You need to rest after your trip. And make out with my little brother, apparently."

Kankuro was blushing just a little as he dried his hands off on his shirt, scoffing at Hana. "Don't act so surprised. Making out with your brother is nothing compared to what we did back in Suna."

"She doesn't need details!" Kiba hissed, his own face taking on another light blush. Hana snickered loudly and Kiba rolled his eyes, grabbing onto Kankuro's hand once he was close enough and dragging him down the hall towards his bedroom. "You and her are nightmares together, I hope you know that."

"Trust me, babe, I'm fully aware." Kankuro assured him, adjusting his hand so that their fingers slotted together again.

Kiba led him back to his room, shutting the door behind them and going over to flop onto his bed. Kankuro followed suit, only he landed right on top of Kiba, chest to chest, and knocking the wind out of him. Kiba wheezed just a little bit before he rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around Kankuro's torso. "I've told you this before. You're  _heavy,_ Kankuro."

"Tragic." Kankuro murmured, his breath ghosting along Kiba's throat as he spoke. Then his lips were kissing at whatever patch of Kiba's throat he could reach, making Kiba shiver and smiled softly. "See? You don't mind it that much now."

"You're distracting me." Kiba murmured back, shrugging lazily.

Kankuro snorted and gently rolled off of him, stretching out at Kiba's side and heaving a loud, jaw cracking yawn. "God, I'm tired."

"Then rest." Kiba murmured. "Big day tomorrow; you don't wanna be exhausted during the wedding."

"I'll rest in a minute." Kankuro assured him, turning over onto his side and propping his head up in his hand. He looked at Kiba silently for a second, eyeing him thoughtfully. "We didn't talk about it much in our letters, but did everyone bother you about what went down with your dad?"

Kiba blinked in surprise before he shook his head. "Not...really, actually. They all sorta know because of Sakura or Lee, but they haven't gone out of their way to ask too many questions. That's kinda how we all work. We don't pry. I don't really mind, either; it's not something I want to go into detail about with everyone. I mean I love them all but...there's some things that not everyone has to be u to date on. They're caught up enough in our relationship, they don't have to be caught up in my dad crap either."

"That...makes sense." Kankuro agreed softly. "It's personal."

"Yeah. They know it was awful and that's all they need to know." Kiba admitted. "They don't need to know why he ditched my mom or anything; that's too personal. Both for me and for my mom and sister. Hinata and Shino probably know the full story. Sakura and Lee and Kakashi know bits and pieces and everyone else just knows the vague part. I'm content to keep it that way."

Kankuro grinned softly, but it didn't last long. His smile faltered and he sighed, glancing aside as he spoke, as if he were afraid to make eye contact with Kiba as he spoke. "I didn't wanna press the issue too much in front of your mom and sister but...you're really sure you want to move to Suna? With your dad there?"

Kiba nodded firmly, propping himself up on his elbows as he heaved a small sigh. "Yeah. I can share a village with someone I hate, Kankuro. He's...the only real negative outcome in this whole situation. I'm learning medical jutsu and I'm going to try to train Itaru's daughter and her dog. I'll have you, the man I love, there with me. I'll have Lee and Gaara and Akamaru...and it'll be okay. I've known you since I was thirteen...I know for sure that by your side is where I want to be."

Kankuro nodded and laid his head down, pressing his face into Kiba's blankets. "...That makes me really happy." He said, voice slightly muffled by the blankets. "...I love you."

"I love you, too." Kiba murmured, reaching over and carding his fingers through Kankuro's hair slowly. "Now rest, alright? We have to be up pretty early to meet up with Gaara and the others for the wedding."

"Right, right...Naruto will kill us if we're late." Kankuro mumbled, heaving one final, big yawn before he fell silent.

Kiba smiled softly and scooted closer so he could wrap his arms around Kankuro and pull him flush against him. He breathed in the other's scent for what felt like the hundredth time that day, his smile softening when Kankuro's arms found their way around him as well. It was calming and comforting, a feeling Kiba was sure he wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

...And then Hana opened the bedroom door to let Akamaru run in, and the two men found themselves with a heavy dog lying on top of them both.

Well, it was calming while it lasted, at least.

* * *

"Ino really went all out for this." Kiba breathed, looking around them in awe.

The wedding was being held outside which, really, wasn't much of a surprise; Naruto loved the outdoors. The rows of seats lined the lush green grass leading up the fancy looking alter, all decked out in blues and yellows. Flowers were everywhere, too, both sprouting from the grass and put up in every single place they could fit, adding even more color to the scene. They had picked the one area in the village where the Sakura trees were still blossoming, pink petals spiraling down towards the grass and seats every time a breeze blew through and above them the sky was a bright, cloudless blue.

It was the  _perfect_  day for a wedding.

Ino had planned this well, indeed.

Almost everyone was already here mingling, save for Sakura who was with Iruka getting Naruto ready, and Ino who was with Kakashi getting Sasuke ready. Even Tsunade, who had been out of the village for a while on a vacation, was here with a wide grin on her face. Everyone else was standing around in their groups and Kankuro had reluctantly parted from Kiba to go talk to his brother and sister for a while. Kiba ventured his way over to where Hinata and Shino were with Shikamaru and, to Kiba's surprise, Kurenai and her daughter, Mirai. Kiba's heart nearly skipped a beat at the sight of her, dressed beautifully a kimono of different shades of red and white.

It had been...well, ages since the last time they had seen Kurenai. She was so busy with being a mother, while they were all so busy with their own lives. Well, now he felt sort of bad, especially consider he was moving, soon...

But Kurenai was all smiles when her eyes fell on Kiba and she opened her arms wide, bringing him into an embrace. "Look who finally showed his face." The woman mused softly, ruffling Kiba's hair a little when she stepped back.

Kiba offered her a sheepish smile, shrugging a little bit. "I'm sorry; I've been caught up in so much..."

"You weren't even going to tell me you were moving?" She asked, her tone gentle and curious.

Kiba had to shake his head quickly. "I promise you I was going to tell you. Just...I've been distracted. I'm sorry-"

"No apologies!" Kurenai cut in, pressing a finger to Kiba's lips as she smiled softly. "I'm not mad, Kiba; I promise." She certainly didn't look mad, so Kiba believed her.

Off to the side Mirai was playing with Akamaru and Kiba watched them for a moment or two, before he smiled a little at his teacher and his friends. "Man...we haven't all been together in a while."

"Well, you three have such busy lives now." Kurenai offered with a small shrug.

"We do." Shino agreed softly, his own smile apologetic as it tugged at his lips. "We're glad you were able to make it, though."

"Me too. Mirai's cold finally died down yesterday and I was really relieved." Kurenai chuckled a little bit. She turned to Kiba again, bringing a hand up to brush a stray hair out of her face. "I heard you got to meet your dad. Was he as much of a let down as I figured he'd be?"

Kiba arched an eyebrow, mostly surprised, before he nodded slowly. "Yeah, pretty much." He hesitated. "Did you know him?" He asked slowly.

He wouldn't have been very surprised if she did, though. Even Kakashi, who had to have been a teenager around the time Kenzo was still in the village,had known him at least a little. That fact didn't make Kiba as uncomfortable as he expected it to but it still left him feeling just a little... _unsettled._ How many adults had known Kenzo and had looked at Kiba with so much pity and curiosity while he grew up?

"I knew him a little, but not very well." Kurenai nodded with a small, offhanded gesture. "He wasn't very impressive, aside from being easy on the eyes. His personality wasn't much of a standout compared to your mother's."

"He was boring? How awful." Hinata mused, a small smile tugging at her lips. She glanced at Kiba, though, perhaps just a little bit worried about him.

Kiba flashed her a small smile before he looked back to Kurenai and rolled his shoulders in yet another casual shrug. "He was pretty boring when I met him, too. So it wasn't very eventful. The guy sucks. My trip was really great aside from that, though."

"Oh, I  _heard_." Kurenai grinned softly, linking her arm with Kiba and gesturing across the way, were the sand siblings were huddled under a tree with Shikamaru, Lee, and Chouji chattering away. Kurenai hummed softly, laying her head on Kiba's shoulder. "Kankuro, right? He's your boyfriend?"

Kiba blushed hard, nodding a little bit as he kept his gaze on the group ahead. "Yeah...he is." Somehow, in a way, it felt a little more intimidating to tell Kurenai about his relationship than when he told his mom. He shoved all of that hesitation down and when Kankuro's gaze met his from across the way, Kiba sighed softly and let a grin pull at his lips. "That's my guy."

"Cute." Kurenai gushed softly, her voice a bit softer as she patted Kiba's hip gently. "Keep a good hold on him. He's easy on the eyes and a pretty nice guy from what I remember." She paused and then hummed. "Although if he starts acting up, don't be afraid to put him in place."

Kiba snorted and shook his head just a little bit. "He won't act up...but thank you."

Kurenai chuckled and nodded, before she put her hands on her hips. "Alright, no more talk about you and your mushy boyfriend. This is Naruto and Sasuke's wedding and I, for one, am very excited. Kakashi is still with Sasuke, yes?"

"Yes, he is." Hinata chirped with a nod. "The wedding should be starting very soon." She sounded so, so eager.

"So we should all find our seats." Kurenai started to usher Hinata and Shino away once she scooped up Mirai, but she paused to throw a curious look at Kiba. "Are you still sitting with us or are you sitting with Shikamaru and the Suna kids?"

"You guys." Kiba replied as he fell into step with them, smiling again. "I told Naruto last minute not to change my seating. Kankuro and I can live being apart for a bit."

"You sure about that?" Shino snorted, earning him an elbow in the ribs and a small huff from Kiba. Worth it.

Everyone else began taking their seats soon, too. Really, Kiba was only about two rows ahead of where Kankuro was. Everyone seemed to be buzzing with excitement and radiating joy, eager to see their friends finally,  _finally_  get married. Kiba was excited too. When they were kids, he'd never thought much about their futures...he certainly never imagined it would be so...happy. For  _everyone,_ at that. And For  _Naruto_.

Naruto deserved the whole damn world after everything.

So did Sasuke, really, if Kiba were to be honest. Both of those men had gone through so much together...Hell, Kiba was worried he'd break into tears for their sake if he thought too hard about it.

Luckily, the wedding began shortly after and all his bittersweet thoughts were put to rest.

Naruto looked utterly breath taking, as Kiba knew he would. His smile was almost blinding, the tears of joy welling up in his eyes were contagious and even Kiba found himself shedding just a couple of tears as he watched his friend marry the love of his life. Oh, and Sasuke...Sasuke looked like a dream. Was it weird to think that? After going so long with such conflicted feelings about him?

Maybe...but Kiba didn't care. Sasuke looked gorgeous. He looked  _happy_ as he looked at Naruto. Both of them together, in front of all of their friends...their  _family..._ they just looked so damn happy and everyone else watching them could feel it. Kiba glanced at Hinata and saw her wiping her eyes, smiling widely. He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently and when she looked at him, they both shared a soft, relieved smile. When he threw another small glance around he wasn't surprised to see quite a few people shedding a tear. Hell, Iruka was close to sobbing with joy, and even Kakashi looked...serene...like maybe he'd cry if he wasn't surrounded by so many people.

It felt overwhelmingly good to be surrounded by all these people, all of which who were so happy for Naruto and for Sasuke. They had all come so far together over the years, had gone through so much...and they were all watching right now as Naruto and Sasuke started a new, happier chapter in their life. One they both waited their entire lives for. A chapter they deserved more than anything else in the entire world.

It felt so...so good. And then the two kissed to seal their union, Kiba was the loudest one cheering, nearly knocking his seat over as he shot to his feet to clap excitedly.

Yeah. This was good. This...was real. Kiba wanted people to feel this good if he ever had a wedding, too.

There was much mingling to do afterwards. Naruto and Sasuke bounced around between different groups and right now, they were talking to Tsunade and Kakashi and Iruka, so Kiba veered his way to where Kankuro was, still with Gaara, Lee, Shikamaru, and Temari. It took great skill to sneak up on Kankuro, but with to much excitement and noise Kiba was able to snake his arms around the man from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder and speaking into his ear, "Hey, sweet thing, fancy meeting you here."

Kankuro snorted, a sound that had Kiba's heart fluttering. "What a coincidence that I'd be here at the same time as such a handsome man-"

"Oh, gross, stop it." Temari blanched from the side, making a fake gagging noise. "Only Naruto and Sasuke are allowed to be sappy today."

"Like that's going to stop them." Shikamaru snorted softly, hands shoved deep in his pockets. "Kankuro was basically dying without Kiba next to him during the whole ceremony."

"I was not!" the puppet master insisted through a huff, slipping his arm around Kiba's waist as he rolled his eyes. "I was paying  _very_ close attention to Naruto and Sasuke and their love, thank you very much."

"Me too. I almost cried." Kiba chimed in.

"I did cry." Lee announced proudly, his arm wrapped around Gaara's waist in a way that meant Gaara wouldn't be moving anytime soon. "It was beautiful. I think they should have a wedding every week."

"You would get sick of weddings like that." Gaara murmured with a small, yet amused smile on his lips.

Lee shook his head quickly. "Nope. There's no way. I can never get sick of people being in love."

Gaara rolled his eyes but if he had anything else to say, he didn't have the time. Naruto was bounding up to them with Sasuke in tow, grinning so wide Kiba wondered if his face hurt. Though he could say the same about Sasuke; he wasn't sure if he'd ever seen Sasuke smile so hard. The two of them made their way over, Naruto instantly being brought into a series of hugs by all of them, and then Sasuke being pulled into the hugs as well. It felt like they were both radiating a type of joy the rest of them just couldn't reach just yet. It was...wonderful.

"Look at that, the happy couple." Shikamaru mused as he brought a hand up to ruffle Naruto's hair.

Naruto allowed it this once, giggling a bit as he held Sasuke's hand a little tighter. "We don't have a whole lot of time to mingle, but we wanted to make our rounds and see everyone."

"We barely escaped Tsunade." Sasuke told them with a chuckle, glancing over his shoulder in the direction Kiba assumed Tsunade was in. He gave a small shake of his head when he looked back at them. "She's sort of tipsy, but really happy. Iruka and Kakashi managed to distract her, though."

"Jeeze, yeah she was about to cry and everything." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, that cute little sheepish habit he had. He turned to look at Gaara, who was beside Lee, Kankuro, and Kiba. "How long are you staying in Konoha?"

Gaara hummed thoughtfully, rolling his shoulders a little bit. "Three more days. I'm going to help Lee with the rest of his packing before we go. And Kiba needs more time to get his things in order as well."

"Three days is enough time." Naruto nodded to himself, grinning wider. "On your last night here we're going to have a going away party for Kiba and Lee."

Kiba groaned softly, untangling himself from Kankuro. "Naruto, you just got married. You have a honey moon to go on-"

"It's a shame, then," Sasuke cut in, cocking his head and smirking playfully at Kiba. "That we already paid to have the barbecue place rented out for that night."

Kiba blinked in surprise and then he snorted, crossing his arms. "You are unbelievable. You really aren't going to let us say no, are you?"

"Nope." Sasuke replied, his smirk softening to a gentle smile. He stepped closer to them, just a little bit, while Naruto fell into conversation with Shikamaru at his side. "I know that for Lee and yourself it isn't really the same when it comes to me, but you two grew up with Naruto and...everyone else. It really would mean a lot to everyone if we all get together and just...spend a night having fun and talking before you two move. You two are moving, Sakura's about to be inaugurated, Naruto and I just got married, and everyone else is finally about to start their new careers or paths in life. So...it would just mean a lot to all of us if you'd let us do this for you two."

Kiba was...touched. He glanced over to lock eyes with Lee. "Well, shit."

"When you say it like that, who are we to say no?" Lee sighed fondly, reaching out to pat Sasuke's shoulder. "We're looking forward to a night of fun then, Sasuke!"

"See? I told you they'd say yes if you asked them!" Naruto gushed, pressing a sloppy kiss to Sasuke's blushing cheek. "Really, though." He looked back to Kiba and Lee and gave them that small, gentle smile that they all loved. "It'll be great. I promise. And if you guys need help packing anything just let me know."

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Ino's voice carried over from a few feet away, where she and Sakura were entertaining another group of guests.

Naruto waved towards them and started to tug Sasuke away. "That's our cue. We'll see you guys in a bit!"

"Ah, the busy life of newlyweds." Temari mused softly. "They'll be bouncing back and forth for a while. I think they're just eager to go home, though, and be together."

"And  _consummate_  their wedding." Kankuro said with a flirty wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh, ew." Temari's smile was gone in an instant and she scrunched her nose up, giving a firm shake of her head. "Didn't need to think about that, but alright." She looked over at them, finally putting her hands on her hips. "So are you love birds all busy tonight or would you guys like to come to our place for dinner?"

"We can come." Kiba assured quickly. He was quick to answer because on one hand he didn't want to hog Temari's visiting time with her brother, and on the other hand...well, who was he to pass up free food? "What time?"

"Whenever, really." Shikamaru told him with a shrug. "No special time. It's just going to be casual and relaxed."

"I'm making dinner, but be warned that if you show up early enough then I'm going to make someone help me cook." Temari added as she smiled again. "But yeah, just show up whenever."

"We can do that." Gaara murmured. "We'll probably just go to Lee's to pack a few more things and change our clothes and then we'll be over."

"Yeah, Kiba and I might be a bit later." Kankuro added as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "We promised his Mom we'd help clean the kennels out if we got back from here early enough."

"Just shower first, please." Temari insisted, reaching past Shikamaru to grab for one of the many snacks laid up on the table they were near. "I love you both, I really do, but don't show up smelling like wet dog kennel." She fixed them with a look that promised them pain if they didn't listen to her. It was...oddly endearing. Kiba was starting to wonder if he was finally past the stage of being afraid of Temari.

"That's fine." Kankuro assured, turning to press his lips to Kiba's temple and dragging the dog-nin from his thoughts. "We can shower together and save water-"

" _Gross_!" Gaara cut in, shooting his brother a small glare. "Must you be so blunt?" There was no real venom in his tone, a sign that he was trying to uphold a more dignified Kazekage appearance in front of others.

This time it was Kiba's turn to fix a sand sibling with a look, his eyebrow raised as he snorted at the redhead. "Says you, who made that comment about not having to date someone in order to fuck them. Yeah, I remember when you said that. You aren't some innocent flower."

"Oh, he most certainly isn't." Lee cackled from the side, hand covering his mouth in a horrible and failed attempt to hide his laughter. Gaara elbowed him in the ribs, looking away with a huff as his cheeks flushed brightly.

Kankuro scoffed softly, rolling his eyes as he slipped an arm around Kiba once more. "Come on, let's go mingle, babe. We'll be here a bit longer."

They parted ways from Lee and Gaara and the others, making their way over to Hinata and Shino and everyone else. Truthfully, the rest of the reception was a bit of a blur to Kiba. So many smiling faces, so much laughter and tears...it was all things Kiba knew he'd remember in vivid detail later, as he laid in bed letting his calm thoughts over take him. For now, though, letting it be a warm and happy blur was just fine because he was surrounded by friends, with the man he loved at his side.

They did manage to make it back to Kiba's place fairly late in the afternoon, though, which gave them plenty of time to help Tsume clean out the kennels. Tsume wanted  _all_ the wedding details and the two men took turns gushing over various parts of the wedding, both of them gushing just a little too long over Sasuke and Naruto themselves. Tsume didn't seem to mind too much, though; knowing Naruto was happy was good enough for Tsume. However, cleaning the kennels with her took just a little longer than they had planned, and the sun would be setting in only a few short hours by the time they made their way back into the house, clothes damp and their skin smelling of wet dog and mud.

"We might actually have to share a shower if we want to make it to Shikamaru's place soon." Kiba noted as they made their way down the hall way, sniffing at his shirt.  _Yikes_. Yeah, they stunk like hell.

"Gotta love when I predict the future." Kankuro snickered, stopping by the bathroom door. "I can get the shower started if you can grab me some clothes from my bag in the room?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second." Kiba pressed a quick kiss to Kankuro's lips before making his way down to his room. He had to pause in the door way for a moment, eyeing all the packed boxes that already lined the far wall of his bedroom. They had been in such a rush this morning to get to the wedding that he hadn't really noticed how much packing they had done in the middle of the night.

It was a strange feeling to see half of his room packed up already. It was a strange feeling knowing that very, very soon, he'd be living in a different village surrounded by different people. For just a split second it made his breath hitch, but he relaxed as his ears caught the soft, barely there sound of Kankuro humming from the bathroom.

Moving didn't feel quite as daunting as before. Ah, but if he stayed lingering in his door way any longer he'd probably start crying. Happy tears, of course, but he didn't have time for that right now. He rummaged around in Kankuro's bag until he found some decent clothes and then grabbed clothes for himself, heading back to the bathroom.

Kankuro was already in the shower so Kiba didn't waste time stripping, kicking his discarded clothes aside before stepping into the shower as well. Kankuro fixed him with a small smile, wet hair sticking to his face. "Hey, handsome."

"Hey yourself." Kiba smiled a bit before gently pushing Kankuro out of the way so he could get under the spray of the water, too. "Now no funny business; we wanted to get to Shikamaru and Temari's at a  _decent_  time, remember?"

Kankuro scoffed. "You did. I never made a promise about being early or anything." He pointed out as he reached past Kiba for the soap. "It's not like Temari will murder us if we're late or anything."

"She'll tease us relentlessly though, and I'm not here for that. Not tonight, at least." Kiba couldn't help but smile as Kankuro started to wash him off, the puppet master's hands firm yet gentle on his skin. "It was a good day and I'd rather not listen to hours and hours of your sister taunting me."

"I guess that's fair." Kankuro murmured softly, lips tugging up in a gently smile. He washed Kiba down for a few minutes, the only sound coming from the water hitting the bottom of the shower.

Kiba was yet again awestruck by the domesticity of such a simple act, showering with the man he loved. It was so simple and so pure, yet so strange and alien to him that it left him stunned. He could get used to this, though. He knew that for sure.

"You know, I don't think any amount of soap will make you stop smelling like a dog." Kankuro offered after his extended silence. He arched an eyebrow at Kiba, daring him to be offended, but all Kiba was able to do was snort his way into laughter.

"You're such an ass." Kiba mumbled, taking the soap from Kankuro's hands so he could wash the other this time. "Always cracking jokes. You're lucky you're kinda cute."

"Only 'kinda' cute?" Kankuro retorted with a snicker. "Man, here I thought I was a totally jaw dropper."

"Maybe. Sometimes." Kiba shrugged, lathering soap along Kankuro's chest. He was silent until he rinsed the soap from the other's skin, finally leaning in to press his lips to Kankuro's wet throat. "Is it weird that taking a shower with you makes me really happy?"

"Mmm...no, not really." The other murmured softly, reaching over to push wet hair out of Kiba's face. "It's cute...It's what happens when you're in love, I guess. You know? You get all sappy and cute."

"I guess so." Kiba chuckled softly, shaking his head. "It's just...we're going to get to do this all the time. You know that, right? We're going to live together and...we can always see each other. It's got me so...excited. Like I can't breathe when I think about it."

"I know what you mean..." Kankuro said softly, moving a hand down to stroke Kiba's cheek. His expression was so, so soft. "When I think about it I get all...I don't know. Weird. Excited. I used to imagine what living with you would be like and when you came to visit I...was sure that it was the closest I would ever get to experiencing it. Then you do this...and I'm just...so happy." He sighed and shook his head a little, leaning down to press his lips to Kiba's cheek. "I won't ever let you go, you know. Or Akamaru, for that matter; he's like my son."

"Wow, so if we break up you're taking my dog?" Kiba mock gasped, playfully batting the man's hand away from his face. "How rude. You can't just take a man's dog."

"I doubt Akamaru would even let me anyways." Kankuro assured, turning Kiba around so he could wash his back gently. "God, the house is going to be so lively now with you, Akamaru,  _and_ Lee moving in. It's going to be kind of weird for Gaara and I at first."

"You guys could use some more life in that house." Kiba snorted over his shoulder.

"I guess," Kankuro chuckled softly, before he hummed thoughtfully. "So...since you and Gaara have apparently been talking about this together for a while, do you have anything lined up for when you get settled? You said you wanted to train dog users in Suna, and you're studying all this medical stuff for animals."

"Gaara mentioned already having some things in mind." Kiba nodded. "Nothing set in stone, but he said if anything, with some extra work and training on my end, I could train a special canine unite in Suna. I'll have to start off teaching genin and kids first, though, which I'm entirely okay with. So, it's all in the air right now but he and I have a general idea of where to start."

"Good, that's great." Kankuro gushed, smiling to himself. "If I can help at all let me know, alright? I wanna support you and all that cute nonsense."

"Such a romantic, you are." Kiba chuckled, reaching over to finally shut off the water. He turned around to kiss Kankuro's cheek before grinning. "Now we  _really_ need to get ready to go."

"Yeah, yeah." Kankuro did get out of the shower though, much to Kiba's relief.

The two of them dried off and dressed rather quickly, Kankuro deciding not to reapply his face paint to save them time. They bid Tsume a quick farewell before they were hurrying out the door, fingers interlocked. Luckily, Temari and Shikamaru's place really wasn't too far away, so they didn't have to rush entirely. However, the threat of Temari's disappointment kept them at a fairly...brisk pace. Just to be safe.

It was Shikamaru who greeted them at the door, holding the door open with a foot while he used his hands to tie his hair up out of his face. "About time. Another half hour and Temari would have hunted you both down."

"Yeah, we know; we got a little distracted in the shower." Kankuro chuckled as the two of them step into the house.

Shikamaru's nose crinkled a little. "Ew, but I understand entirely. You didn't miss anything yet, though; just Lee crying about how much he loved the wedding." He closed the front door and led the two to the living room, where Gaara and Lee were. "Lee's done crying now, of course; Temari's in the kitchen-"

"I wasn't crying!" Lee insisted as he looked up, cheeks puffed out a little. "I was just...really excited!"

"So excited that...you cried." Shikamaru smiled a little bit, plopping down in a chair. "It's fine, Lee; not like we weren't all crying today too, anyways." He brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck, smiling a bit wider now. "It really was a gorgeous wedding, though. Ino really out did herself with it."

Kankuro flopped down onto one of the couches, pulling Kiba into his lap. This made the others around them snicker just a bit, but the puppet master didn't seem bothered at all. "She did, I was very impressed. Whoever gets married next has to hire her again."

"I think  _she's_ the next to get married, man." Shikamaru reached up to adjust his ponytail, regathering some hair that had fallen loose. "She and Sakura have been talking about getting married for ages, now. They're probably just waited until after Sakura becomes Hokage."

"Most likely." Lee agreed, nodding a little. "Ino will probably make sure their wedding is the most beautiful one of our generation. None of us will be able to top it." He decided firmly. Then he paused and looked back at Gaara. "Actually, we have to have the best wedding of our generation, Gaara. I'm sorry, but the splendor of Naruto's wedding ignited the need to have an even better one."

Gaara blinked in surprise, lips twitching up into a small smile as he rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "I'm sure we can do that. I am Kazekage, after all."

Kiba snorted softly at the way Lee grinned excitedly, already seeing all the wheels turning in the other's head. Kiba leaned back into Kankuro, smiling a little as the other's hands gently rubbed his hips. It certainly wasn't a sexual action. It was just...intimate. To be doing it so casually with their friends and family around...it made Kiba's heart flutter.

The butterflied were extremely short lived.

Temari appeared in the door way leading to the kitchen, hands on her hips. "Oh, so all four of you are here now and no one wanted to offer to help me cook?" She asked them all.

Kiba blinked and then grinned, standing up and pulling Kankuro to his feet, shoving his lover towards the woman. "Actually, Kankuro would love to help his big sis cook!"

"What?!" Kankuro screeched, but it was too late. Temari latched onto his arm, tugging him into the kitchen as the snickering of everyone else echoed through the house.

* * *

Naruto was far too happy for someone who had given up an early chance at a honeymoon just to throw a goodbye party for two of his friends. Then again, it was Naruto they were dealing with so...it wasn't too out of the ordinary. He had practically yanked Kiba's arm off in his attempt to drag him into the barbecue shop he had rented out for the night. Sasuke, bless his soul, managed to free Kiba from Naruto's deadly, and excited, grasp while Kankuro snickered softly from the side. Like a traitor.

"Sorry, I know I'm really overeager." Naruto rushed out as they made their way to where all the rest of their friends were. He turned on his heel and smiled over at Kiba again. "I wanted to be here before everyone else, but Sasuke  _distracted_ me and then we ran into you two on the way here and just...god, I'm late to the party I planned!"

"Naruto, chill." Kankuro patted the blonde's shoulder before he took Kiba's hand and led him to sit down across from Lee and Gaara. "We'd only be mad if you didn't show up at all, anyways."

"Trust me, if Sasuke and I had gotten anymore carried away then we would have missed the whole party." Naruto snickered as he sat back down.

Sasuke had the decency to blush a bit, huffing. "It wasn't all my fault, you know. You liked it-"

"Ew." Tenten cut in from the other side of Lee, crinkling her nose. "No sex talk at the table! Please. I don't want to sit and think about Naruto and Sasuke naked anymore than I already did as a teenager."

"God, that's so valid." Ino reached over for one of the many bottles of alcohol lining the table. "Who hasn't spent their teen years thinking about either of them naked, though?"

"Uh, me?" Chouji scoffed, arching an unamused eyebrow. "Not once."

"That's rude!" Naruto screeched a little bit, lip jutted out in a pout. "I'm a catch and you know it."

"Naruto, you're definitely a catch." Chouji agreed with a nod, using his chopsticks to flip a few slices of meat on the grill. "But you're not  _my_ catch."

Kiba listened to their friends tease and cackle around the table, feeling that familiar warmth blossoming in his chest as he listened to them. He was overwhelmed with love for his friends, and the more he thought about leaving, the more bittersweet this all felt. He took a sip of his own sake, and then looked across the table at Lee. Lee looked a little somber too, but just a little. He was laughing along with their friends just like Kiba was, but there was a certain look in his eyes when they lingered on one of their faces for just a second too long. Kiba wanted to reach out and hug him.

"Kiba!" Temari's voice ripped him from his thoughts and he looked over at her. She grinned a little at him, leaning a bit heavily into Shikamaru. "When you move in with my brothers, you and Lee can't let them sweet talk you guys into getting away with not cleaning the house. They did that to me all the time."

"We clean!" Gaara whipped his head around to squint at his sister. "We're very good at cleaning, too."

"It's true." Kiba nodded a little bit. "When I was there the messiest person was me. So I don't think you have to worry too much."

"Gaara's a neat freak, anyways." Kankuro added casually.

"That has to be one of the best things that came out of us all growing up," Neji murmured as he brought his drink to his lips. "Most of us stopped being as messy as we used to be. Like Tenten? You should have seen how messy she was but once we moved in together it just like...vanished."

"Uh, that's because I was messy out of defiance towards my parents." Tenten said firmly.

"Also valid." Kiba snorted. He reached over for a plate, gathering some meat onto it before placing a few strips of it onto the grill. He glanced around at all of their friends, his smile softening. "Hey, guys? Uh...thanks. For all of this. This...party thing, I mean. I know I sort of argued against it but..."

"It was needed." Lee cut in softly, nodding a little bit as a smile tugged at his lips, as well. He leaned heavily into Gaara, sighing softly, but in a way that sounded content and at ease with everything. "We really love you guys and it means a lot to us that you all took the time out of your busy schedules to spend tonight with us."

"Hell, Sasuke and Naruto pushed back their honeymoon to set all of this up!" Kiba waved a free arm around, nearly knocking an elbow into Kankuro's face. "It's...really awesome of you guys..."

When he glanced around again Kiba saw that all of his friends had the same soft, content expression that Lee wore, too. Kiba would be one of the first to admit that when they were all little kids, they might not have been so close. And even growing up before the war, they had their differences...but they had all grown up together, one way or another. They had seen each other's best and worst and still they chose to grow up side by side, to carry each other into every new year. It...almost felt like a blessing. He was sure that the younger version of himself would have taken all of this for granted, but he knew that now he'd remember this for the rest of his life.

The party seemed to go on for hours, well into the night and then the early hours of the morning. They were all pleasantly buzzed by the time everyone started filtering away. Those who parted made sure to hug Kiba and Lee for what felt like ages, wishing them the best and all those other things. By the time Kiba and Lee realized it, the only ones left were Hinata, Shino, Sasuke, and Naruto. They were all still huddled around the table, some of them a bit more buzzed than others, and Kiba was sure that the shop owners probably hated them for staying so damn long. But for once, he didn't really care.

Hinata, finishing up her final drink of the night, finally heaved a sigh as she leaned into Shino, a hand coming up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "Man, I'm sort of tired..."

"I'd hope so, considering it's about two in the morning." Sasuke cracked a small smile, shoving aside his plate and glass, finally done himself, as well. "But yeah, I didn't realize how late it was..."

"Maybe you guys should head home." Gaara suggested softly, a slight flush staining his cheeks from the one too many shots he had taken. "It's very late."

Hinata hummed, lips pursed slightly. "But this is the last time we can hang out like this for a while..."

"Yeah, I'm not super eager to leave yet, either." Naruto forced out through a yawn. But he looked  _so_ tired. Actually, they all looked pretty tired.

The thought of them staying up so late and pushing their own limits just to spend as much time with them as they could...it was nice, in theory. But it made Kiba feel a tad bit guilty, especially since he knew every single one of them were early risers, and always went to bed at decent times every night. A selfish part of him wanted to suggest they drink until sunrise...but they couldn't do that. That, he knew, wasn't an appropriate way to deal with the twinge of sadness eating away at all of them. Besides, it wasn't like he'd never see them again. Once he got settled in Suna, figured out what he was going to do, he'd be able to visit once again.

It was with a small sigh, and a slightly heavy heart, that Kiba stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets. "You guys are such saps. Go home and sleep if you're tired, guys!"

A beat of silence passed, and then Lee started to laugh a little bit. "Kiba's right...you all don't have to stay up so late just to be with us. You'll be seeing us again soon."

"Not soon enough." Naruto mumbled as he averted his gaze, laying his head on Sasuke's shoulder. He was smiling though, a tired sort of smile that Kiba recognized well. It was the same sort of smile Naruto used to wear when they'd part ways as kids, when they all went home to families and Naruto went home to an empty apartment. It was sort of sad, but also sort of accepting. Kiba, really, had a bit of a hard time accepting that he was important enough to Naruto to receive such an expression from him. "You and Bushy Brows have to come visit as soon as you can, Kiba. And you gotta bring Akamaru, because it's gonna be so weird not having that big hair ball tackling me at least twice a week."

"Don't worry, Naruto," Gaara murmured as he stood up too, gently taking Lee's hand to help him up, too. "As soon as they're available, I'll give them some mundane mission here so that they can come by for a few days."

"That sounds great." Shino cleared his throat and stood up, sighing a bit as he walked over to Kiba. He hugged him and Kiba blinked in surprise, before his lips tugged into a smile and he found himself throwing his arms around Shino, perhaps a little too tightly; he wheezed a bit. "Kiba, you're going to crush me."

"Tragic." Kiba snickered softly, pressing his face into Shino's shoulder, inahling his scent. Over the years, his team had begun to smell like him. It was something that had been a comfort to Kiba over the years, knowing that they smelled like him. That they smelled like  _home._ He wondered if they'd stop smelling like him the next time he saw them. "Send me letters about all the teacher stuff you get to do. I want to know every detail, even if you think it's boring."

"I will." Shino murmured, embrace tightening just a little. "You too, though. Write us about your medical training and about what you're going to do after. If you take on a genin team, I want to hear all about it."

Kiba leaned back with a soft smile, giving a barely there nod. "Yeah, man, of course. I'm gonna write you so much that you're gonna be so sick of me. The arrival of every letter is going to fill your heart with undeniable dread."

Shino snorted and shoved him back, shaking his head. "You're so dumb." He mumbled, and then he was turning on his heel to say goodbye to Lee.

Kiba would have loved to watch Lee get sappy with Shino, but the second Hinata stepped up to him, that was all he could focus on. Hinata's smile was soft, tired, and just a little bit sad. When her arms wrapped around him Kiba didn't hesitate to hug her back, inhaling her scent once again. "Oh, Hinata. Light of my life."

She laughed softly, shaking her head as she pressed her face into his shoulder. "Dork." She sighed softly. "Once you're there I'm going to send you some stuff. Like a house warming gift, maybe. And I'll send you some of the nail polish I use on Akamaru since I won't be there to paint his nails for him."

"Yes, of course. He'll die without having his nails painted at least once a month, you know." He chuckled, leaning back just enough to press a kiss to Hinata's forehead. "You have to keep me updated on your ANBU stuff, too, by the way. I want to know every detail you're allowed to share with me."

She nodded a little bit. "Okay, that's fair." She agreed, and then she was looking past Kiba to smile a bit at Kankuro. "Take care of him, okay? You know how he gets."

"You have my word." Kankuro even bowed his head, a smile on his lips. What a smart ass. But when he straightened up again he was making his way over to stand beside Kiba, twining their fingers together gently. "He's in good hands, Hinata. I promise."

Hinata gave a small nod, leaning up to press a kiss to Kankuro's cheek gently. "I believe you." She assured softly.

She made her way over to Lee and Gaara and Kiba didn't have a chance to prepare himself for Naruto's tackling hug that nearly sent them both, and Kankuro, to the ground. "Ack! Naruto-"

"I'm gonna miss you, Dog Breath!" Ah, maybe the booze was finally starting to take it's full effect on him. He whined loudly, rubbing his face into Kiba's chest a couple of times. "Are you gonna miss me too?"

"Wha...of course I am!" Kiba huffed and rolled his eyes, looping his arms around the other with a slight smile. He couldn't be upset; Naruto was sort of cute when he got emotional. "How could I not miss you, oh great and wonderful Naruto Uzumaki?"

Naruto made a small noise, something Kiba assumed was a muffled giggle. "Yeah, I am pretty wonderful..." He agreed softly.

"Damn right you are." Kiba chuckled quietly, then looked towards Sasuke, who sat there watching with a faint, amused grin on his lips. "Sasuke, come get your man before he starts bawling."

Sasuke snorted and stood up, gently tugging Naruto away from Kiba, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Let Kiba breathe, babe. You still have to go say goodbye to Lee-"

"BUSHY BROWS!" Naruto was scurrying off the next moment, nearly tackling Lee and Gaara in a hug the same way he had done to Kiba.

Sasuke scoffed, shaking his head, and then looked at Kiba once again. There was no awkward silence this time, Kiba noticed. He was glad because it gave him the final push he needed to stride over and loop his arms around Sasuke in a hug. The first hug he had  _ever_ given Sasuke. Sasuke stiffened for a moment before he relaxed, letting out a chuckle that sounded just a tad bit nervous. "I get a hug too?"

"Damn right." Kiba snorted. "I almost died for your ass when we were kids, so yes you get a hug. In fact, this should be considered a blessing in your life. You're getting hugged by me and that's-"

"Don't say rare, because you hug people literally all the time." Sasuke cut in with a snort. But he was hugging back...at least, a little. In that weird, awkward half hug Sasuke managed to do with people who weren't Naruto or Sakura. "But uh...thanks. I hope your move goes well and...you enjoy it in Suna. I look forward to hearing about what you do too, so...do well."

It was awkward. It was  _so_ awkward but Kiba welcomed like an old friend. They moved away from each other, giving one more small nod, and then Kiba found himself looking towards Gaara and Lee, who were still trying to calm a now close to sobbing Naruto. "We'll meet you at the gates tomorrow morning?"

"That sounds good." Gaara replied, voice just a bit louder than normal so he could be heard over the sound of Naruto's voice. "Walk home safely."

Kankuro was leading Kiba out a moment later, holding his hand tightly once more. He was silent though, in a way that made Kiba just a little bit unsteady. He gave the other's hand a gentle squeeze, glancing at him as they walked down the dimly lit road. "You haven't said much."

"I'm thinking." Kankuro replied softly. When he glanced over and saw Kiba's curious expression he smiled a little, glancing away from him. "Watching you say goodbye just made me sort of sad, I guess. Maybe guilty."

"I already told you not to feel bad about it." Kiba told him softly. He pressed just a little closer to him, lips tugged into the smallest of smiles. "I made this choice...and it's the best thing I've done in a long time. I'm gonna miss them but...that's a given. It isn't like this is the last time I'll ever see them, anyways."

"I know." Kankuro murmured, sighing. "It's just still so...mind blowing to me that you wanted to do this. Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy...but I guess a part of me is still worried you'll hate it."

"Well, don't worry." Kiba leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I've all the time in the world to show you that I'm not going anywhere."

Kankuro blushed, a sight Kiba would never get sick of. He wished they could go home and fall into bed together, tangle themselves in the sheets and get lost in each other...but they didn't have that kind of time. Later, when they were in Suna, they could. So instead, when they arrived back at Kiba's home, they spent only a little bit of time kissing each other senseless before they went to sleep. There wasn't much to worry about, anyways. All of Kiba's important things had been sent off to Suna the other day, and Tsume and Hana would send the rest of it over the next few days. So Kiba was able to fall asleep peacefully, a little drunk, and very much in love with the man wrapped in his arms.

Morning came all too soon, like it normally did these days. They rose not too long after the sun did, which was killer on their mild hang overs, but it was tolerable. They packed in silence, exchanging small, eager looks from across the room here and there, and when Kiba had packed his own things he packed another small bag for Akamaru. Food for the trip, a water bowl, all things he would need for the journey back to Suna. It took them a total of an hour and then they were both making their way out of the room, Akamaru already laying by the front door waiting for them.

Tsume and Hana were waiting for them, as well, and Kiba's breath caught in his throat as he took in the expression on his mother's face. It was sort of sad, but also...sort of happy, like she was torn between the two emotions...which she probably was. Kiba smiled softly at her and exhaled shakily when she hugged him, inhaling her scent one more time. "You got up early to see me off?"

"Of course I did." Tsume muttered softly, a hand coming up to cup Kiba's cheek as she broke their embrace. Her thumb stroked his cheek gently, her soft smile still there on her lips. "As if I'd let my little pup leave without saying goodbye."

Kiba grinned, nuzzling into his mother's hand as if he really was still a child. "I'll write you a lot...and send pictures."

"Good." Tsume replied, kissing his forehead gently. "Take care of yourself." Then she was moving to Kankuro, embracing him like he was her own child too. "And you take care of yourself too, Mister. I expect letters and pictures from you as well."

Kankuro's eyes widened a bit in surprise, before a slightly embarrassed flush bloomed on his cheeks. "Yeah. Of course. Totally."

Kiba snickered softly, before he turned to his sister. Hana ruffled his hair gently, sighing quietly at him. "Well, this is it...I'm sorry I couldn't teach you more before you left."

"Don't worry about it; you gave me a good head start." Kiba assured her, rolling his shoulders in a small shrug. "It's enough to push me in the right direction. Suna's gonna have one kick ass Dog-nin master once I study a bit more."

"You're gonna be the greatest." She agreed quietly. There was a sort of sadness in her eyes, a bittersweet sort of sadness that struck Kiba to his core. Hana had always been there for him, more of a second mother than a sister. She must have been feeling just as sad as Tsume. But she also looked proud in a way Kiba had never seen before as she hugged him tightly, just for a second. "Take care, Kiba. Visit soon."

"I will." He promised, stepping aside so Hana could move to Kankuro.

Poor Kankuro seemed entirely overwhelmed by the attention of his new family members, blushing and smiling here and there. It was kind of cute, but Kiba found himself looking away so he could kneel down next to Akamaru, gently petting his head. "You ready, boy? Got a bit of a long trip ahead of us."

Akamaru lifted his head and barked, tag thumping against the floor.  _I've been ready._

"Good boy." Kiba gushed, standing up straight and slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

It took another ten minutes of Tsume's motherly worrying until they were finally heading for the village gates. There was a buzzing, excited energy buzzing between the two of them. Kiba couldn't stop grinning. Kankuro couldn't stop throwing small smiles his way. It felt  _nice._ It felt nothing like the anxious atmosphere Kiba had been expecting. Even Akamaru seemed to be buzzing with energy, tail wagging as he darted between Kiba and Kankuro over and over, nipping at their hands playfully. That was honestly all Kiba really needed to see to know that this was the right choice. It felt...right.

At the village gates, Lee looked as energetic as ever while Gaara...well, he looked a tad hung over, but fit to travel. Lee greeted them with a grin, petting Akamaru when the dog rushed over to him. "Good morning, Akamaru! You look excited!"

"He is." Kankuro told him, shaking his head a bit. "I swear, he's still got same energy he did when he was a pup. He's all bright eyed and stuff."

"He's excited." Kiba added, hands shoved deep in his pockets. "I think we all are, huh?"

"Excited. Over joyed. Nervous. A bit sick to my stomach." Lee listed off, grin widening. "All of the above, and then some. I could hardly sleep last night."

"He was so...wiggly." Gaara commented with a tiny shake of his head. "He was up an entire hour before we had to be."

"Can't blame the love of your life being eager to begin living with you." Lee scolded gently, poking a finger into Gaara's now blushing cheek. Gaara swatted his hand away, only to have Lee capture his hand and kiss it gently.

Gaara's entire face heated up and he scoffed, quickly looking at Kankuro and Kiba. "Are you both ready?"

"Entirely." Kiba nodded, smirking. "Unless you two want to keep being sappy for a bit longer?"

"Tempting offer." Gaara hummed playfully, twining his and Lee's fingers together. "But we have a lengthy trip so we should get going."

Kiba had spent weeks mentally preparing for this day. But nothing prepared him for the swell of emotions that seemed to bubble up inside of him as he took that first step out of the village gates. He worried, for a small moment, if he would turn back and run...but Kankuro was right beside him. Akamaru was trotting alongside the both of them. Lee was rambling on and on, and Gaara was there, his presence quiet but still as calming as ever. It almost felt like home and, as scared as he was, Kiba had never been more sure of any other choice in his life.

He was going home, and he was going to become someone better than he was now. He just couldn't believe that a simple trip to visit his deadbeat dad had been so...life changing. He wouldn't have traded it for anything else in the world, though.

 

 

**_Epilogue_ **

 

"Inuzuka-Sensei!"

Kiba looked up from the scroll he was reading over, smiling a little as he watched Yasuki run across the training grounds to him. She had grown well in the last five years since Kiba had moved to Suna, her blonde hair now long enough to be tied up into a messy ponytail. Her nin-hound Hotaru, one of Akamaru's pups, had grown well too. She was still small, of course, and was the same size Akamaru had been when Kiba was a child, but she was a feisty little ball of dark brown fur. It filled Kiba with pride to see them now, just like it did every day when he saw them. He set the scroll down and stood up, dusting the sand off of his pants. "Yasuki! Hotaru!"

Yasuki nearly stumbled to a stop, panting a bit as she grinned up at him. "You'll never guess what happened."

"You're right, I won't." Kiba agreed, hands on his hips as he arched an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"At school, we got assigned to our jounin teachers." She told him in a rush, her grin so wide Kiba feared her face would split. "I'm on your team! I couldn't wait until the team meeting tomorrow, so I rushed here!"

Kiba had known, weeks ago, that Yasuki would be one of his students. It had filled him with comfort, really, to be able to be her official teacher now. After all, he'd only been training her here and there ever since he moved to Suna, teaching her how to train with Hotaru and be a team with her nin-hound. But Gaara had seemed a little too eager to give him a genin team and, seemingly, figured Kiba would be the best bet for this particular team.

Yasuki's two other team mates consisted of a skilled genjutsu user by the name of Tenya, and a puppet user that had been under Kankuro's private instruction for a while by the name of Kiyo. Tenya was someone Kiba had only meet a few times, but Kiyo had been a special project of Kankuro's while Yasuki had been Kiba's. But they were all good, promising kids in Suna, and Kiba had nearly jumped at the chance to be their teacher. He was glad Yasuki seemed to excited.

Kiba grinned widely, scooping Hotaru up and kissing her fluffy head. "I get my favorite student as my official student? That sounds awesome, but don't think I'm gonna give you special treatment now."

Yasuki snickered a little bit. "I'd be mad if you did." She assured him, crossing her arms. "I'm really excited, though. My team mates are super cool! You know Kiyo, but do you remember Tenya?"

"A little."

"He's cool."

"You're all pretty cool." Kiba offered. He set Hotaru back down on the ground and ran his fingers through his hair. "I can't wait for the official meeting with you guys tomorrow, then. We'll make an interesting team...a genjutsu user, a puppet user, and two dog-nin users..."

"Plus, you're technically a medical user, too." Yasuki chimed in. "We're gonna be so bad ass."

He blinked and snorted softly, nodding as he reached out to ruffle her hair, messing it up even more. "We will. It's getting sort of late now, let me walk you home before you dad freaks out."

"Dad always freaks out."

"Because your dad is a soft hearted old man who loves you very much."

Yasuki snickered, but she allowed Kiba to begin leading her out of the training grounds once he gathered his things. Hotaru darted between the two every now and again, yipping until Yasuki picked her up and held her. "Are you and Kankuro-Sensei doing anything tonight?"

"We invited Gaara and Lee to our place for dinner." He replied with a nod. "I'm trying to figure out if I have time to shave before hand...my beards sort of long."

"It's barely there." Yasuki snorted loudly, nudging him with her elbow. "But that's cool. I didn't know Lee-Sensei was back from his mission."

"Yeah, he and his team got back yesterday." Kiba nodded. "I swear, the past year of him being a teacher hasn't changed him at all. He's even  _more_ energetic." Not that he minded. It was a comfort, really.

Around them, the streets were bustling as always. The sun was starting to set, so shops were turning on their lights here and there, splashes of neon catching Kiba's eye very few minutes. He looked over at Yasuki, looking her up and down before he smiled softly. "You're growing up well, Yasuki. It sort of makes me feel old...just a handful of years ago you were a little kid tugging me into your dad's shop for food."

"And now I'm a genin giving you gray hair." She cackled, sticking her tongue out at him. But her expression softened a little bit as she sighed, holding Hotaru a little closer. "It's...cool, though. In just five years you became Suna's top dog-nin user, a near master at human and animal medical jutsu, and now you get to be a teacher...and you're married to the Kazekage's brother!" She giggled softly, shaking her head. "You're kind of awesome, you know?"

He flushed a little, a soft smile tugging at his lips. "I mean, I'm sorta awesome." It humbled him to hear it from her, though. This must have been how Kurenai felt ages ago when she started to really notice how he and his own team had grown. "You're making me feel old though, either way. Soon enough you'll be all grown up doing adult things, and I'll be your boring old sensei who still gets scolded for making out with his husband in public."

"Hey, I think it's cute that you and Kankuro-Sensei are still so sappy." Yasuki waved a dismissive hand. "People are just losers. Lee-San and Gaara-Sama are still seen making out too, they just don't get scolded because, well, it's Gaara-Sama."

"You're so wise." Kiba gave a small roll of his eyes, looking at Hotaru. "She's growing well, too. I think I'll be able to teach you the Man Beast Clone jutsu you like so much."

Yasuki's eyes widened and she grinned, nodding excitedly. "Yes! I've been begging you to teach me that for months!"

"Well, now that you're officially done with the academy I can teach you." Kiba assured her, stomach doing a prideful flip at her over eager reaction. "Patience is a virtue, my pupil. I'll teach you all I know in time."

Yasuki snorted again, always such a giggly girl. The walk to her home wasn't very long in the end and when they reached her front door, Kiba offered her a soft smile. "Get some rest tonight; tomorrow is a big day."

"Tomorrow is the first day of being a real ninja." She sighed dreamily, laying her chin on Hotaru's head. Her expression softened as she looked at Kiba. "You get rest, too, Sensei. Thanks for walking me home. Tell Kankuro-Sensei and Akamaru that we both say hello."

"I will." He promised, and he waited until the girl was safely in her house before he made his way back home. The walk wasn't very long; he and Kankuro had found a home near the center of the village, after all. He still sort of missed when they lived with Gaara and Lee, but having their own space for the past two years had actually been really nice. Being married in their own house...that was nice.

The smell of food cooking invaded his senses when Kiba walked into their house, and as he kicked off his shoes Akamaru trotted over to him. Kiba kissed the dog's wet nose, chuckling softly. "Hey, buddy. I saw Yasuki and Hotaru today; they said hello."

Akamaru barked happily, and then he was trotting away to jump up onto the couch and go to sleep, once again uninterested in Kiba. Kiba scoffed and made his way to the kitchen, where Kankuro was busily cooking at the stove. It seemed the other didn't notice him yet, so Kiba grinned wider and sneakily made his way over, snaking his arms around his husband's waist. Kankuro jolted in surprise, huffing rather loudly as he shot a not so annoyed look over his shoulder. "Kiba, I could have spilled something."

"Oh, you're fine." Kiba laid his chin on his husband's shoulder, grinning still.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, a fond smile tugging at his lips as he shook his head. "Jerk. How was your day?"

"Boring, entirely." Kiba told him, watching the way Kankuro's hands moved around the stove. "I was at the clinic for a bit, then hung out at the training grounds. Saw Yasuki, too; she found out she's on my team."

"With Kiyo, right?" Kankuro probed gently. He had a soft spot for that girl, after all.

Kiba nodded, "Yep. Kiyo, Tenya, and Yasuki. The dream team, really. All the best kids. I get to meet them officially tomorrow, and then after that it's going to be real teacher work. Missions and all that..."

"You excited?"

"Sort of nervous, actually."

"That's normal."

"Well, I'm nervous all the time anyways." Kiba chuckled softly. He unwound his arms from Kankuro's waist and stretched a bit, back popping here and there. "What did you do today?"

"Bathed Akamaru, ran some errands for Gaara. Nothing fun." He admitted. "But tomorrow I'm going to a meeting with Gaara, so I'm prepared for a whole day of being so bored I want to die."

Kiba leaned back against the counter, chuckling. "My poor baby." He gushed softly, taking in the graceful way his husband moved around the kitchen. "When are Gaara and Lee getting here?"

"Any minute, so no sexy business." Kankuro chided gently, but there was a teasing smirk on his lips. "You can be sexy after they leave. In fact, I'll be a bit mad if you aren't. I'm long overdue for sexy times."

"We had sexy times two days ago." Kiba pointed out through a bark of laughter. "But okay, deal."

Kankuro grinned as he moved across the kitchen to grab bowls and plates. "I was also thinking...once you get into the swing of your teaching stuff, we could go to Konoha for a bit. Shino's birthday is coming up, right? We should go visit."

Kiba wondered if he'd ever get tired of the joy that domesticity brought him. Seeing his husband walking around so casually, hearing him talk about possible vacations for them both...Hell, Kiba still felt like such a teenager around him. But that was the beauty of love in the end, wasn't it? It felt like home, and he could never get sick of it. He couldn't stop from smiling so hard, his face almost ached. "Yeah, that's a great idea."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my garbage! You can come yell at me on [Tumblr](http://http://my-tatteredwingsof-freedom.tumblr.com//LINK)


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